Weston S. Konishi is Associate Director of Asia-Pacific Studies, Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and a participant in Cohort II of the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future. He has co-authored a response with Carole Shaw to an article: PacNet#47 -Korea-Japan: Time for Outside Mediation? PacNet is a weekly publication generated by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

A description about the article: America’s two closest allies in Asia are engaged in a heated territorial dispute that threatens to undermine regional stability and long-term US strategic interests. Given the stakes, some call on Washington to take a more direct role in mediating a diplomatic solution between South Korea and Japan over the Takeshima/Dokdo islets. As the “senior ally” and security guarantor of both parties, the US is in a unique position to encourage a positive outcome to the dispute.